Youth E-cigarette, Blunt, and Other Tobacco Use Profiles: Does SES Matter?

Objective: We examined the associations between socioeconomic status (SES) and adolescent polytobacco use profiles (including e-cigarettes and blunts).

Methods: Adolescents (N = 1932) completed surveys conducted in 2014 in 3 Connecticut high schools. Within a Latent Class Analysis (LCA) framework, logistic regressions examined associations between SES and polytobacco use profiles comprising never, ever, and current e-cigarette, blunt, cigarette, cigar, cigarillo, hookah, and smokeless tobacco use.

Results: We identified 5 classes: (1) current polytobacco users; (2) ever polytobacco users; (3) current e-cigarette, blunt, and cigarette users; (4) ever e-cigarette and blunt users; and (5) never users. Low SES, relative to high SES, was associated with greater likelihood of being: (1) an ever polytobacco user; (2) a current e-cigarette, blunt, and cigarette user; and (3) an ever e-cigarette and blunt user, relative to a never user.

Conclusions: Low SES is associated with membership in distinct polytobacco use latent classes. Regulatory initiatives that focus exclusively on cigarette use may miss the opportunity to influence adolescent use of other products, which may be especially relevant to low-income individuals. Future research should examine whether targeting a broader range of products reduces SES-related tobacco use disparities.